A Roman villa that lay undisturbed for more than 1,000 years is finally giving up its secrets. Archaeologists believe a site just uncovered at Butleigh, near Glastonbury, helps to fill in some of the missing gaps of Somerset's history.
For centuries the piece of land, known as Beggar's Field, has seen little more activity than the pasturing of cattle. And standing in the middle of the field, with Butleigh Monument and Glastonbury Tor dominating the surrounding landscape, it would be easy to imagine that is how it has been for time immemorial.
But thanks to the efforts of a team of archaeologists, a fascinating picture is emerging of a bustling industrial and agricultural community on the site from about 1,700 years ago.
Paul Martin and his business partner Sam Driscoll, of Wiltshire-based Absolute Archaeology, have been supervising training digs at the complex site, along with Sam's husband Paul, who is also an archaeologist, having become aware of the site in 2005.
Sam said: "We were helping to geophys a site on the outskirts of Glastonbury when a farmer came up to us with a tray of items he had picked up from a field nearby.
"We agreed to come over afterwards with our geophys equipment and see what it showed up."
The geophysical surveys mapped out dense features hidden underground, indicating structures such as foundations to long-forgotten buildings and buried floors. After seeing the results, the team dug test pits over what appeared to be the most intense activity on site and brought up evidence of Romano-British activity including deposits of ceramic building materials, broken lias thought to be evidence of the demolition of the building, and Roman artefacts including nails and pieces of pottery.
With permission of the tenant farmer Richard Chaddock, Absolute Archaeology has recently completed its second training dig of the site, uncovering a late Roman villa that shows evidence of continual occupation into the so-called "Dark Ages".
There has been a wealth of finds, from rare Roman coins to pieces of Roman pottery, a quern stone, and a limited amount of metalwork.
But the most exciting discoveries uncovered in the trench included foundations of massive walls, an industrial hearth, a corn-drier and parts of mosaic floors later paved over with flagstones.
The very bottom layer – the earliest sign of occupation of this building – is a mosaic floor which, helpfully, had within its membrane a Roman coin dedicated to the emperor Magnentius who ruled until 353AD.
Paul said: "The evidence of the site indicates a number of different uses of the building over a substantial amount of time. We have several layers of floors on top of each other.
"What we have here is a high-status late-Roman building with mosaics.
"There is evidence that later, most likely after the withdrawal from England of the Roman leaders, this building underwent a substantial change.
"Suddenly the mosaic floors are not so important, but it appears that looking after your family is. So the rooms become more functional. We see the hearths appear and the other evidence of industrial Romano-British life.
"There is a scarcity in recognised post-Roman occupation in this county and to find it here is very exciting."
Work at Beggar's Field is now into the final stages, with mapping and planning of the site being carried out before the trench is infilled to once-again protect the features.
A full report on the dig will be published next year, once the host of expert consultations have reported back on the finds.
Source: This is Somerset [August 26, 2010]